Back to Suzuhana's Profile Suzuhana's Profile

I have deduced that when CLAMP sets out to create a piece of work, they put in a plan to put it to a halt. Just to make us all suffer (not really, but doesn't it make you wonder?).

Story: For any of you familiar with xxxHolic, Legal Drug plays out similarly to that, even though LD came before it. But while in Holic you find Yuuko's store when you have a wish to be granted and Watanuki and Domeki find a way to grant it for you; in LD Kakei, the owner of the Green Drug Store, comes to Rikuo and Kazahaya with odd ... jobs. Jobs only they could do because of their abilities. All so that they can earn extra money on the side to pay for rent. On the surface that's it. Underneath it all something more complex slowly seeps out the sides, pulling you deeper and deeper into it only to end at volume 3! We really start to taste the story, with Kakei, Rikuo and Kazahaya, and even Saiga and we don't really get enough. But the problem is, that what we do get is absolutely wonderful. Throughout each of the side quests, we get these little bits of both Rikuo and Kazahaya's past, that make you itch for more. In the end, I'm really looking forward to it [finally] being continued. There really isn't anything more exciting than knowing that your finally going to get more.

Art: What can I say [again]? CLAMP makes itself known on its artwork and its characters. LD has a 90s feel to me although it was published in the 00s. It's reminiscent of X and Clover. It's edgy, dark and detailed. You really can't go wrong if you're already a CLAMP fan, and if you aren't than you might want to give it a try because it's truly worth it. It also carries the same sensual feel that CLAMPs older works do that I think the newer ones do not. CLAMP was at its best artistically at this time and I don't think you should pass up the chance to experience it for yourself.

Character: Absolutely the best aspect of LD. Kakei is a favorite along with Rikuo. But I've grown to love them all. Their personalities are so quirky and aggressive, it's obvious that they're children of CLAMP. What should also be apparently obviously is the shounen-ai, especially between Kakei and Saiga [you can't miss it - really]. If you have a problem with this, then what the hell are you reading CLAMP for? No one wants to hear you bitch and moan about how much you can't stand it when the simple solution was to just not read it - or to keep your mouth shut. Another wonderful aspect about these characters is their air of mystery. That's what LD is about. Finding out who exactly Rikuo and Kazahaya are, who the women in their lives are, why Kakei opened the Drug Store for them and why is it that they all came to be together? What is Legal Drug? You shouldn't pass up Legal Drug purely for the fascination of Rikuo, Kazahaya, Kakei and Saiga.

Enjoyment: I really love LD, absolutely. I'm an avid CLAMP reader and fan as well, so my opinion might be biased. But that shouldn't dissuade you from taking the time to just see if this one is for you. Because CLAMP never really seems to fail with it's characters and they always manage to make a story come to life around them and their art is always superbly detailed and rich that I can't help but enjoy [almost - see Chobits] everything that they give us. And this one, despite it's length, didn't disappoint me.

If you look at my profile, at my manga list, its fair to say that I am a CLAMP follower. Not that everything they do is perfect and is right for everyone but they generally do what they do right. But when I read Chobits I was disappointed.

Story: Take Hideki. A poor, 19 year old ronin student who can't get a job, a girlfriend and who has no life. On top of that he talks to himself when his imagination gets overly excited. And one day his luck just happens to hit him square in the forehead. Meet Chii. A very naked, very curvaceous...persocom? ... Oh yes. I forgot the OTHER part of this story. Now meet the persocom. The humanoid computer. Complete with moe eyes, big boobs and a vagina. Where Chii's ON button just happens to be.

The thing with Chobits is that you can't seem to escape the constant back and forth between Ecchi moments and the Seinen/Romance moments. One minute Chii is searching for her one and only and then next she needs panties? Or we're reading the story about The City with No People and how loneliness is never escapable and the next Chii is wearing only a shirt and Hideki wants her to download porn.

There's a serious attempt at a social movement within the story. Our lives are ruled by computers and the web and there's a fine line between love and lust and when we make that leap. And robots being capable of love? CLAMP really, really ALMOST had it with this one. Chobits really does try to succeed. And it would have if there wouldn't have been so much Ecchi in contrast to the Seinen/Romance. It just didn't fit right. I wanted it to work but it didn't for me. In the end, the final conflict really would have had more meaning to me, if there hadn't been so much Ecchi paired with the Seinen/Romance.

Art: The only outstanding part of this work. CLAMP will always succeed as long as they stay together I believe. I loved the beauty of Chobits and really this is what kept me reading page after page. If you like CLAMP already, then I don't believe this will disappoint you. Though there's nothing special about Chii and Hideki.

Character: Oh the characters. Oh how insignificant you all really ended up being. Hideki and Chii prove to be the two most insignificant and pointless main characters I have ever encountered. Hideki may be easy to relate to but it doesn't make him very special. Hell, it doesn't even make him slightly remarkable. Hideki is simple.Chii ends up being his solution, in a not-so-easy solution. I ended up liking the side characters better than them. My rating of a 5 stands because there were only 2 that made any kind of impression on me. Zima and Dita.

My overall enjoyment of Chobits is an average 7 and I was hard-pressed to give it a 6 because with the amount of Ecchi this manga should be given a minor warning to anyone under the age of 14. And really CLAMP, if I wanted Ecchi, I would read Ecchi. But I don't want Ecchi. I want Romance, and I want to see Robots be able to fall in love, and I want to see how one robot could destroy everything that they have all worked for. I want to see CLAMPs one and only work out again. I wanted CLAMP.

But this one fell just a little short.

I'm sorry. Yuu Watase wrote what? That's right. She wrote yaoi. A shoujo yaoi. How does that work? (To be honest, I was confused.)

Story: Sakura Gari really is a gem. It's the first yaoi I've found in a really long time that wasn't ridiculous and oversexed with no plot to speak of whatsoever and unrealistic characters who scream out "No! Please stop!" while having sex but really want it in return (Because no means yes, obviously). There was a story here that had me reading it into the wee hours of the morning and had me thinking what a sick, twisted little thing throughout ... most of the story only to be suddenly thrown off the horse and have the waterworks turned on full blast. Because we live in a world of forgiveness, where humans show just how willing they are to love and let go.

It's obvious from that teeny little paragraph right there, that if you're looking for hot, sweaty sex between guys that can't seem to not be attracted to each other and can't seem to not do it with each other in every chapter because there isn't any thing else to do in the plot, that this really isn't the manga for you. I've read plenty of Watase-san's other works and I was seriously surprised to learn that she had published a new piece, that was mystery and twisted in my opinion but that was yaoi! I mean all I knew that she had done was shoujo and mostly about sort-of-magical girls.

Either way, this story was intriguing but also a bit graphic. I don't want to push anyone any from it, but to be brief, I believe that there should be a bit of a warning on it. Does anyone wish to mention that there is constant rape, abuse and torture present throughout the volumes? Even if it only happens when people talk about it? For some people, this may be to much for you to bear, but in the end it's something that makes the story so harshly beautiful. I believe it speaks to the harsh reality that people refuse to face every day. It's used for the purpose of the plot of the story and I believe that in the end, if you can bear through the scenes, that aren't pages upon pages long, than you will find yourself flying through it to see how it will end which I was so moved by.

Art: If you've read Watase Yuu's work before than there's no need to explain. There's nothing new here and I've never particularly cared for her work but there's nothing wrong with it either. It's clean in my opinion.

Character: I truly found these characters enjoyable. Development happens particularly only between the two main characters, but that's to be expected. They are the focus of this very short series. I believe that Tagami is a very likeable character and you'll find it very hard not to find his situation...difficult and sad and moving. Souma is a difficult character to work through in the beginning in my opinion. But just as compelling and just as heart-breaking. I really loved these two in the end.

Enjoyment: Overall, I truly enjoyed reading this. I mean, I stayed up for four hours through the night just to finish it because I had to know how it would end. And in the end I was emotional. The entire time, I was thinking this is nothing like Watase-san's other work. NOTHING like it at all. Where in the hell did this come from? But I kept on reading because I had to believe that somewhere, something good had to come of it. Through the pain and the sadness, people are forgiving creatures and I had forgotten that.

I will never regret reading this manga, and I highly recommend it.

It's hard to recommend a manga to someone when 3.7 of the volumes have been translated. That's right. 3 full volumes have been translated. Half of the fourth. And then like 4 other random chapters after that. How are you supposed to reel anyone in with a premise like that?

Because it either will or it won't.

The Summit is surprisingly good. Not great because I haven't felt like I've had the full helping I should (like I explained above, not the full translation), but what I've been given had me reading straight through. I didn't stop and I wanted to read more. And I ... was seriously disappointed when there weren't any more chapters for me to read!

Story: Saez, Han Lee or whatever is on a train one day and gets pickpocketed by Moto, this really pretty, effeminate boy. Standard stuff. But I felt like there was this hard-edged, gritty feel to the The Summit and while I didn't particularly feel any pull towards Moto, I felt it toward Saez. He's the one who changes, specifically his tastes toward a pretty boy who suddenly starts to hang around him a lot, and the story sort of goes through their life together. Nothing particularly special, just them together. Until we get a little further in and we see Moto's pasts starting to come out and the trouble that he seems to drag everywhere and that's where it really starts to pick up-and also where the translations get **cked up! It's really very interesting though to watch as Saez tries to keep his growing feelings tame for Moto who's completely oblivious about it but who attracts just about every testosterone filled organism within a 50 mile radius (yes, people. BoyxBoy love if the synopsis didn't clue you in on that already.)

Art: I've never really been one for Korean art, but I have read some before (Boy Princess, Bride of the Water God) and it always has this weird look to me at first. Like I can't read it because I'm so used to reading manga and not manhwa. But once I got past my initial reaction it's just as beautiful as most other manga. But one thing I can say, is that manhwa always feels edgy, rough and sometimes harshly detailed. Not that I find this demeaning in any way. On the contrary I think it is what gives it the unique feel of manhwa and I always appreciate that. But I think it is something others may not like.

Character: I find that I like Saez much better than I like Moto. There's certainly character development, definitely between them and for each of them, though I can't say how much for Moto. The random chapters at the end have revealed a devastating past and decision that he makes and I really wish that the translators would do something about that! But the supporting cast isn't bad either, partially because they're almost nonexistent until later and then they fit into the part of the story that we don't have much to go on yet, so it's hard to say what about certain characters. But I don't have anything against any of them. Just that I like Saez, even if he is a bit of a perv.

Enjoyment: All together, I particularly enjoyed reading this manga and I would really rather they just translate them in order and not jump around like that. Because that's what ruins the enjoyment of the manga for me. Not the material but how I have to read it. I can't find it anywhere to buy and so I must revert to the internet. But really, don't let that stop you from at least giving it a try. It may not all be there and I know some people may not want to start something that may never be finished and that has bits and pieces thrown in at random places, but it's almost worth it to just suck it up and deal with it.

Regardless, I can honestly say I don't understand why anyone translates half of volume 4 and then skips the rest only to go and do chapter 32, then 36, 38, 46 and then 52. Seriously? I'm not a translator, nor will I ever be able to be one because I don't know Korean or any other language. But if I did I would be translating my heart out. Don't get me wrong, I am truly grateful that anything is translated period. But what's the point of jumping around, when it won't make any sense in the end?

My love of CLAMP spills out again. Tokyo Babylon is another beautiful tragedy that every CLAMP follower, and manga reader should try.

Story: Find yourself in Tokyo, the 90s, following Subaru, a young progeny onmyouji. Exorcist for all who don't know what that is. Sounds so ordinary, so very relative. You can't even begin to understand how absolutely tragic and emotional this manga is. Subaru's companions, Seishirou and twin sister Hokuto accompany him as he travels throughout Tokyo and what is ultimately the setting for X/1999. There's plenty of humor here, parallel with tragedy and drama.

If you're uncomfortable with shounen ai, you may not ... like this as well, although nothing outright is done. But there is always something alluded to it in Tokyo Babylon. Personally, I love CLAMP most for this fact alone. Their mantra, of someone's most precious person, no matter what gender, age or color has always been a redeeming quality. I support them alone for this factor in all of their work.

There isn't really much I can say without revealing spoilers for the manga and I can't ruin this beauty. The story will truly bring you in and you'll want to know just why Seishirou is always there for Subaru and you'll want to see more of Hokuto's deliciously charming fashion. This is certainly a twist of a story and you'll never guess it. Enthralling and completely CLAMPesque.

Art: It's a CLAMP classic and I love their older works. The artwork of their older ones is so beautiful and so rich in texture, I always feel like I'm watching it move. There's a sensual feeling to the older works of CLAMP and this one definitely has it. Especially when you see Hokuto's outfits that she makes for her and Subaru. It's highly detailed and dark, which adds to the effect of the dark tones to the story. It's so elegant that it amplifies that tragic atmosphere to the story, making it all so much more impacting.

Character: I love Subaru and Hokuto. Hell, I even loved Seishirou despite certain things. There's certain character development that happens, that is significant to the story and what happens after the story that makes it all so...tragic. God how many times have I used that word in this review? Subaru is the absolute representation of purity and good. Watching how he changes throughout the manga is wonderful (which means you must then read X/1999-you really must. I've written a review for that as well so check it out), and Hokuto is the sweetest sister ever. She's fiercely protective of Subaru and I loved that about her. And Seishirou is like an enigma. Their interactions throughout the story are what make it all and how everything comes together in the end makes it all so much more...
Just read it guys.

Enjoyment: If you can't see it now, you're blind. I love Tokyo Babylon. I fell in love with it in volume 1. Something about self-sacrificing Subaru just made me want to love him. I think, as humans, we can identify with tragedy because we all experience it in one way or another. And this is what makes us connect to what we read or watch. I can feel these characters and I can connect with the story and I love that I am pulled into this story not of my own volition. There wasn't one second where I thought, "Nah, I'm just going to put this book down and go wash dishes or something." This book gripped me by the heart and squeezed me for every tear that I had.

If nobody could ever hurt or kill anybody, then why would people become blinded, to the most important things?
- A Dragon of Earth, X/1999

I can't imagine why anyone could dislike CLAMP or X. You don't have to like X I suppose, but they must have something you would like. Also, you should really read Tokyo Babylon before this one. It is a prequel to this and is just as beautifully tragic as this one, as well as a few of the characters in there and their stories coinciding in X that you may not understand or get if you don't read it. Check out ... my review for that one.

Story: Dragons of Heaven versus the Dragons of Earth. But really, is it that simple? The Dragons of Heaven want to save mankind. The Dragons of Earth want to save the Earth. Saving mankind destroys the earth, and those saving the earth must destroy mankind. A battle of morals. There is no good and evil to this epic battle of destiny. There is no right and wrong. Because really how can you call any of them "bad guys?" When you read it, you'll understand. Both paths could be the end of everything.

I also feel that I must mention that there is a strong ambiguous love connection for some of the characters. Though not outright for any male characters (yet), for those of us who have read plenty of CLAMP's work, we all know that love for these women (CLAMP, that is), can happen anywhere, at anytime, to anyone, of any age and of any gender. That's right. There are hinted at undertones of shounen ai. And while this not only makes me love CLAMP all the more (for their support of loving the one most precious to us-no matter whom that might be) some people may not appreciate the allusion to what this might be. In my opinion, it shouldn't be a problem for anyone. Most people seem to focus on the amount of blood and violence that this manga displays anyway. Alright. Moving on.

Now while X is supposed to be their darkest story yet, and I suppose it is, to me it just feels like the truth. And the truth just strikes home. This story is so compelling I'm not sure how you'll not be able to pick up another volume to read it. I became so immersed in it, that I felt involved in this whole world-ending business, half the time I was crying. Trust me. This story is too good to be passing up.

Art: X falls under their older category (1992-2003) and I find that I like their older works far more than their newer ones. Something about them is just so much cleaner, more artistically beautiful. Compare one of these volumes to Tsubasa or xxxHolic and you'll know what the difference is. I think the characters have a more sensual feel in X than they do in their newer work. There's my word. Sensual. X falls under the shoujo category and for a reason. Those characters are sexy. Just like Sora says "all the Dragons of Heaven are pretty!" Or something along those lines. What Sorata doesn't want to say is that all of the characters of X are beautiful masterpieces. Each is unique to their own power and personality. I also feel that there's a harsher feel to the artwork of their older works, a darker, thicker accent to the lines of it. You won't want to look away from this artwork. Believe me.

Character: I love all the characters of X. Even the ones who are supposed to be "the bad guys." For I believe there truly aren't any "bad guys" in X. I think there's certainly development, and you see it especially it in the group that Kamui eventually picks. If your someone who gets emotionally invested in your characters when you read be prepared. You will come to love your favorites and and you will be rooting for someone to win. But more than likely you'll want everyone to win in the end.

Enjoyment: I love X/1999. I really, honest to god, love it. And would anyone understand me if I said I'm rooting for the Dragon of Earth leader? I feel like I know what his wish is for and I feel like he'll get it in the end and it's going to make me so sad. As some may not like it, I'm on the Dragon of Earth side. Never thought I would be, but I understand where they come from. I understand where their leader comes from. As you can see from my involvement with the characters, I really wish they would just finish the series. I hate that it isn't finished. It's such a beautiful piece of work, filled with plenty of angst, drama, romance and action. I've never been adverse to lots of blood and gore and if that's a problem for the publishers than slap a warning on it. I want it published please!

X didn't disappoint me in any way. Perhaps because it hasn't been completed but that is a problem that I hope will one day be fixed.

Perhaps my score of an 7 intrigues you? Because everyone else has pushed it to the side like you do your asparagus or brussell sprouts (if you like these, then please think of the vegetable you hate most)?

Honestly folks, were we really thinking this movie would be something other than fan service? Come on! It's so typical for shounen, especially long running shounen to mass produce pieces of work that highly resemble your Great Aunt Babette, the one who's always pinching your cheeks, or commenting on how big your...ahem. Well I'm sure you get the picture. It's meant to be a filler! I can't help ... but do this, but these movies are ranged in the area of the Naruto movies (which are by FAR the tackiest things I've ever witnessed). Although Bleach gets a certain amount of respect from me, in that it is much more mature than Naruto. Anywho, for the review.

Story: Seriously, there's not much there. It's all action and Ichigo screaming Rukia's name and fighting some kids who have a history with Rukia and managed to get into the Soul Society to cause some serious damage. Does this sound original to you? Didn't think so. Your probably wondering how these two white kids got into the Soul Society as well as why they waited until NOW to find Rukia and make them 'theirs forever.' Don't bother. This movie is here to serve the masses. Don't let this crush your soul! Welcome to the world of shounen.

Art:...um what's there to say? It's the same as the show (except for those despicable episodes they call the Bount arc (fillers, EW)!) I mean the characters all looked the same to me. Although I got to see Urahara without his hat on for an extended period of time and was highly pleased. Look, there's nothing special to it. And I'm not all into the art unless it WOWs me and this movie didn't wow me with anything special. It was just Bleach's look.

Sound: Okay so I was moved by the music. I take anime music very seriously and it's usually my deciding factor for just about anything. And I don't know what it was about this soundtrack but I was moved folks. Absolutely pleased. I was giddy with joy whenever I heard the music. It's dark and compelling. I believe it fit perfectly well with each scene the music was incorporated with. It's definitely what made me like this movie so much.

Character: None of the humans are here (Chad, Orihime (thank god), Uryu). It's all Shinigami, all the time. Large doses of Rukia, of course this movie is about her, Ichigo, Kon, Kisuke, Renji, Toushiro, Byakuya. We even have smaller doses of Rangiku, Ikkaku, Yumichika, Ukitake, Cherry blossom man (because I cannot for the LIFE of me ever remember his damn name!), Old man commander, ?Shuuhei? (hmmm...purple hair, black mark on face, resembles Ichigo), Mayuri, Yoruichi, Soi Fon, and Kenny of course (I laughed when he went berserk), and quite a few more. I mean, seriously. Can we say FAN SERVICE?

Enjoyment: I really enjoyed this. Haha I know sounds contradictory right? Well I knew what I was expecting when I went into the movie. Hell I even expected something a little less (more goopy mush if you really want to know) and was surprisingly delighted when I was given exactly what I wanted. Hinting at Ichigo and Rukia and a walloping 90 mins of action, a plot you have to read between the lines to find, and all of our favorite Bleach Shinigami.

So if your a Bleach fun SUCK IT UP and just watch the damn movie. Don't go in all "Oh my god, this one HAS to be better." Your gonna be disappointed folks.

It's all the same stuff. Same shit, different day.
Get over it and move on.

Story: The story for Dazzle or Hatenkou Yuugi (I use Dazzle because it is WAY shorter), is pretty unique and I liked it from the start. Rahzel is so annoyingly awesome you can't help but love how obnoxious she is. And I particularly liked Alzeid's character. Not to mention he's pretty sexy, but that's for the females who read this. For the 9 volumes that I've read, the stories quick and charming and all around fun. It has its serious moments, which are usually ended with something witty either by Rahzel or Alzeid. But you can see its steady development into a good story.

Art: ... I like the art. I absolutely love it. I believe it's something that hurts your eyes to read at first, but after you start reading it's just unique and rough and beautiful. Rahzel usually has an abundant amount of cute and adorable clothes for a girl on the move but hey. It's manga.

Character: The character's are pretty interesting in that there's nothing I could really hate about any of them. I found Alzeid highly cold and ruthless and I really just wanted him for himself. I think I enjoyed this manga more so for the art which is why my enjoyment of it dropped so much.

Enjoyment: And my enjoyment of this manga is very high. Until we get to volume 8. Let us try a demonstration. If you have the volumes yourself put volume 7 next to volume 8. Take in the covers for a moment here.

See the difference in artwork? From this moment on in the manga I feel like we have a completely new author. I mean the personality of Alzeid does a complete 180 and the artwork is suddenly soft and cute and Rahzel, Alzeid and Baroqueheat look like little kids. Where are the rough edges? Where is tough, cold, silent Alzeid? Why does Rahzel suddenly look like a 7 year old girl to me? Seriously? I mean I loved the manga until I read 8 and 9 and I have yet to read 10 or 11 because I don't want to read it anymore!

I feel like someone gave me a cookie and then took away the last half I was going to eat. That's what it was like going from volume 7 of Dazzle to volume 8.

I liked volumes 1-7. They get a score of 8. Volume 8 and 9 get a 6.

Rewritten:
TRC, is a heavy piece of material. The first thing you should know is that this is a world of crossover. What does this mean you ask? Any material that CLAMP has produced may or may not have been put into the world of TRC. Mainly it will be characters that are central to CLAMP’s other works. People who seem like they should be important or have some distinct background but you aren’t getting. It’s not necessary to read them before reading TRC, but trust me. If you read them before you read TRC, you’ll see these people and be like “Oh my god, ... its them!” (I believe X's characters play a particularly large role in TRC). The one work you may want to consider reading side by side with TRC is xxxHolic. Not particularly necessary either, but there may be a few inconsistencies that may seem odd or have no explanation to you that came from the witch Yuko that would have been explained in xxxHolic.

Story: It’s one of those love/hate relationships for me. I felt that TRC was a journey for CLAMP, a journey through each of their mangas, their stories, while developing a new story along the way. While Sakura and Syaoran, Fai, Kurogane and Mokona travel so are the rest of us, meeting each of the characters in a different light. The story behind Sakura, Syaoran, Fai and Kurogane though are unique and twisted in themselves. You can’t really find any fault to it, although I don’t particularly like the ending. And I don’t particularly care for how long it was. I sort of felt this dragging motion when reading it when I got to the very last volumes. I think the story lies in the crossover though, the traveling between worlds. The mixture of CLAMP’s signature works, angst and fluff, drama and romance, violence and adventure has your head spinning, albeit in a very good way, that will make you cry, squeal in delight, smile in happiness and gasp in horror. And the twists. When has any piece of work done by CLAMP been without multiple twists? Oh they have you turning they do. Once again, there’s a common undertone of shounen ai here, so if that’s a problem for anyone than you should get over yourself and accept the world as it is.

Art: I believe you must have a certain amount of appreciation to love CLAMP's work. Their art is unique, containing long lined characters, very detailed eyes and often hair (which was always odd for me), and very detailed clothing. In TRC it's sort of soft and very quiet which fits the setting of the plot for the first half. When we get to the second half, the clothing, the dark lines, the deep backgrounds reveal to you the level in which the story will now take. I've always loved CLAMP's art so this was highly enjoyable for me. I also believe that it sort of loses it's sensual feel that the older works used to have (e.g., Tokyo Babylon, X, RG Veda) although there is an aesthetic appeal to it.

Character: I feel that the characters are the story in TRC. I am biased towards Kurogane and Fai, for I am their supporter, but I also feel that they develop the most throughout the story. So much angst and drama, so much humor and light-hearted banter. This connection that they make with each other is unique and powerful. Syaoran and Sakura go through a lot of pain throughout the series and though I think they are most notably the least developed, they are the most important in the series. Even Mokona becomes a central character. And it’s not just the five main characters. Everyone you meet through each of the world’s becomes a part of the overall story. That’s the point of TRC. That is how TRC develops and continues to evolve. How each of the characters interacts and faces the problems before and their pasts behind them and their future before is how they develop. So when I say that the characters are truly the story, I mean it.

Enjoyment: What is there not to enjoy? I've seen old characters brought to life, new characters given life, CLAMP's trademark brought to the extreme (their endless way to confuse you greatly), humor, sadness, ordeal's overcome. I've cried, laughed and was even frustrated. You simply cannot go wrong with this manga. It will have you thinking, for long even after you've finished it. This is a once in a lifetime work that should not be forgotten.

I find that there are people who absolutely love (this seems to be the majority) Furuba or people who can't stand it.

I believe that it's hard not to like Furuba. At first I thought it was just going to be funny, because the first 7 or so volumes are full of hilarious scenes (mainly because whenever the Juunishi are hugged by the opposite sex, they change!). But once you get to volume 6 everything seems to start to gravitate in a different direction.

The story line, when it's revealed, is a little cliche in my opinion. Hence the rate of a 9. Don't get ... me wrong, its a beautiful story and one I find myself learning from over and over again no matter how many times I read it. It's about growing up and becoming who you're meant to be and finding the reason why you were born. It's almost hard to believe sometimes, the pain the characters have to go through in Furuba. But I'm so engrossed in each pain that it's not something that can be put down easily.

The characters are the winning point in Furuba. In reality they'd be a bunch of loners, depressing and sad. And just about every one of them is believable. Their personalities range from overtly happy (meaning there hiding the pain) to stubborn as a horse (go figure) and just down right conceited (he knows who he is). Even 'God' too. The growth of each of them is stunning and gorgeous and reading them grow is like watching the sun rise on a rainy day. I've laughed obnoxiously, cried until my chest hurt and felt the red hot burn of hatred while reading this manga. My favorite character is Kyo because he's absolutely adorable and I think I would also try to solve everything with anger myself. And the one character that I hated and grew to love was Yuki because he, in my opinion, is the one who grows the most. The one problem I have though is our main character. I love and I hate Tohru Honda. It's hard to place into words, what Tohru is. Because she becomes everything at once. A mother, a sister, a friend, a confident, a hero and the reason for someone else's life. But she's also the saddest girl I have ever seen. Bottled up with the most horrifying feelings. Even in the beginning it's obvious. Losing your mother would tear anyone's heart it two. I love her and what she does for everyone in the story. Because if I were to meet her myself, I think I would react much as all the Zodiac do. I would treat her as if she were the sun itself. But where, but in a manga, do you find someone so selfless.

The enjoyment I had and continue to have for this manga is absolute. I own every single volume and I'll pick up one all the time and just read it. There's a lesson in every chapter and words, that even though I don't think anyone in the real world has the heart to say, that make me want to become a better person. Someone who would give and give and give and ask for nothing in return. It makes me want to smile. To be the reason that someone else could smile. It makes me want to to the rock that someone can stand on. It's hard to read this manga and not feel ashamed for something you've done. It makes me ashamed to feel that I don't do as Tohru does. Which is why I believe that everyone should read this manga. Because it's heartwarming, sad, and where life continues to grow.